LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Cincinnati baseball team held close for six innings before falling to the No. 5 University of Louisville 5-1 on Thursday evening from Jim Patterson Stadium. Senior Matt Williams (Mason, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian) tied a career high with four hits to lead the Bearcats.

Cincinnati outhit the nation’s fifth-best team 9-7 as Williams piled on four and senior Justin Glass (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) added two to the Bearcats’ effort.

With the loss, UC falls to 22-29 on the year and 6-16 in American Athletic Conference play. UofL moves to 41-13 and 17-5 and claimed at least a share of the American regular season championship.

Redshirt junior Matt Ring (Muncie, Ind./Yorktown) put up another impressive performance, pitching his third complete game of the season and his second in as many outings. The righty scattered seven hits and struck out three batters but took the loss to fall to 2-3 on the season.

The Bearcats got on the scoreboard first in the top of the third inning, taking a 1-0 lead and breaking a scoreless tie. Williams doubled down the right field line and sophomore Ian Happ (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) followed with a walk. Glass lined a single into left field and a UofL error allowed Williams to scamper home for the game’s first run.

UC’s run was the first allowed by UofL starter Kyle Funkhouser in 29 innings.

Louisville wasn’t behind for long, responding for a run in the bottom of the third to re-tie the score. Mike White singled to lead off, moved to third on back-to-back groundouts and scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 1-1.

The Cardinals broke through in the bottom of the sixth to score two for their first lead of the game. Back-to-back singles led off the inning and both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt. A groundout scored one run for UofL and a UC fielding error brought home another to expand the lead to 3-1.

Louisville added a pair of runs in the eighth with a 2-RBI single by Zach Lucas for the 5-1 final score.

The Bearcats and the Cardinals will continue the series with game No. 2 on Friday, May 16 with a 6 p.m. first pitch from Jim Patterson Stadium. The Bearcats must win at least one game in the series to qualify for the American championship in Clearwater, Florida May 21-25.